Burke Back

Postby Mike Cleaver » Sun Jan 07, 2007 11:23 pm

That's what you guys get for working in "The Toy Department of Life" as Dave Wright once called it.
Sports guys in the old days were the "bad guys" who got away with everything.
Brian Henderson being drunk on the air with a tumbler of rum sitting next to the mic, an almost everyday occurence in the late '80s at CHUM.
Management wanted guys who were so into sports they'd never bitch about the hours, hey! it's all fun, isn't it?
But they were compensated for it, be it with cash, time off or other perks.
Also back in the day, newspeople were also expected to be always available.
At CHUM, Smyth's rule was you couldn't live more than ten minutes away from the station and you had to have an answering machine that you were expected to check regularly when you weren't working (it was before cellphones.)
If you were called, you were expected to show up.
Of course, we were generously rewarded for any extra work, unlike today where most outfits expect you to "suck it up" for the company.
That was back before overtime averaging and time off instead of money.
If you worked the hours, you were paid for them.
You chould choose time off or cash.
Look at the ads today for radio jobs.
They used to want specialists, now they want generalists who can do everything and then clean up the joint before they leave to go out on a promotion or remote.
These days, radio wants you to work like a dog for as many hours a day they can suck out of you and accept the 12 bucks an hour for 8 hours only, no breaks.
I agree, some outfits were better than others and some still are but they're few and far between.
Mike Cleaver Broadcast Services
Engineering, News, Voice work and Consulting
Vancouver, BC, Canada

54 years experience at some of Canada's Premier Broadcasting Stations
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Postby Heard It On The X » Sun Jan 07, 2007 11:59 pm

Mike Cleaver wrote: Also back in the day, newspeople were also expected to be always available.
At CHUM, Smyth's rule was you couldn't live more than ten minutes away from the station...

It's not so much a rule at our place, but living nearby certainly isn't discouraged. We've even taken to calling the area near our shop The Broadcast Ghetto.
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